Eric Karbeling

"Where the Music Meets the Bay" is my final piece for @downtowncorpuschristi ! This was one of the absolute best experiences painting. Beyond getting to paint such a perfect wall alongside legends/friends @ivanjroque @kiptoe1 and @_krystalcooke , the incredible @downtowncorpuschristi team putting everything they had into this for the love of where they live, the legend @thedaskone @cre8iveculturellc helping bring it all to life, all of the amazing parts of their home they shared with us, the overwhelming support and excitement from everyone that came by during and after the painting, my dad and brother making the trip, and getting waves in Texas, I am so grateful to have had this experience with everyone to leave this piece in Corpus Christi and will be absolutely carrying this inspiration with me. #corpuschristi #mural #streetart #painting #skeleton #cowyboy #tejanomusic #guitar #accordion #squigglepapi

My final piece from @midxmidwst - one of the best times ever! So happy with this one to lean more into making things in my world and because I had no idea when I sent this concept months ago that there was a sunflower field less than a block from the wall - I lost it when I found it walking around the first night! Thanks so much @megwagler_illustration for all the work you did to make this happen - getting to be any part of the impact you're making is an honor!! Met so many incredible people like @houstonhands @shannonjoy.art and everyone working together to show everyone else see how cool their home can be. Also was the greatest time hanging and painting with @sub_urban_warrior @beautyfromlight @megwagler_illustration @anthroe @steventellerarts @alexandriaolivia @itraicons @fishboi_art felt like we were a big family. Can't wait for the next one but this experience might not be topped for awhile it was so good!

Beyond excited to share the final piece that I painted with @jacksoren @dev.vision and @thehelm.studio in Wahiawa this weekend!! Can't say enough of how amazing it is to have met them through @distantcollabs back in March and to bring it full circle with this mural. Having some friends here right from the start has made this move feel so much easier, especially since they couldn't be more welcoming. 〰️ Inspired by all the insane natural beauty, I wanted to tie the mural into it's surroundings with some green and include a bird of paradise flower I'd seen on hikes here. Talking with @jacksoren and @dev.vision , we figured it could be a perfect collab to be looking through the plants to one of @jacksoren 's iconic surfing scenes, since a lot of people pass through Wahiawa on the way to the North Shore, and @dev.vision 's squiggles would be perfect to add bold definition and contrast throughout the piece to break up my madness and tie it all together. 〰️ Also, major thanks to @troyboyy and @whosmat from @thehelm.studio for everything - was amazing to feel like part of a team painting this one! 〰️ Video of the whole experience including finding the wall, planning it, and the fun painting it, coming soon! #streetart #mural #hawaii #northshore #flower #design #oahu #urbanart #installation #publicart #birdofparadise #surfart #wahiawa #surfing #color #welcome #psychedelicart #squiggleology #nature #flowers #dongyanginn #housepaintisforthearts

Please go to draftedofficial.com to vote for me to be the featured @ussoccer @draftedofficial artist! The artist with the most votes is named the DRAFTED™ Top Pick and their design becomes a dedicated collection available on Levelwear.com, the U.S. Soccer Official Store, and selected on-site U.S. Soccer National Team matches. So honored and excited to have my design picked to be used for official @ussoccer merch! Gonna post more about the background and story but for now - go vote!

I feel like I’ve heard more and more artists try to make their mockups as “perfect” as possible, so I wanted to share my approach not creating fully rendered mockups that must match the final mural exactly that has worked great for me. My sketches show composition, main forms, and color direction. The real detail and movement happen when I paint. I make that clear upfront and reinforce it by showing past sketches to mural examples so clients understand how the work evolves. It builds trust in the process and in the work that made them want to hire me. Loose sketches also reduce nitpicking and are much easier to adjust. Nothing feels too locked in, and everything comes together faster. Loose sketches can set higher expectations while giving lots of room to actually paint - my goal isn’t to make a giant coloring book or paint like a printer. I personally started painting to feel freer and spend less time on the computer and digital tools. I don’t know if this works for every style, but I’ve had more large projects approved in one round than I’ve had come close to the revision limit. Swipe through to see sketch to mural examples of past projects

Had this long piece of canvas at the end of the roll and an idea I had to paint. “Long Monster” 20x59” House Paint on Canvas

The more I do the better life gets. Unfortunately didn’t have any videos of me knitting to include.

Wild to now confidently say I like running. Proud of myself doing @thehapalua half marathon and how well it went. Last year I really had to push myself to do the 10k in march and that was by far longest I’d ever tried to run. Really cool to think how much harder that felt. Before that I would almost never make it to a mile without stopping. Only walked through the water stations and didn’t use a water backpack like I thought I needed when running a ton in the winter. Pretty shocked how at steady I was able to do the whole thing and wasn’t looking at my pace. Very happy to have finally tricked myself to enjoying it after starting mainly as a way to get stronger for paddling. Beat my time from the Philly half marathon by 15 min, another sentence I never would have thought I’d say.

Excited to share that this painting will be up at the @east.west.center from April 12-30 as part of their “FAUNA” exhibition. Thanks @hui_manuoku ! Manu o Ku Heading Home 16x20” House Paint on Canvas

Sometimes you get an idea so compelling you gotta do it right away. Here’s me painting a long monster. How many white monsters can you spot? #whitemonster

Got to do the print for @ericchurchmusic with @stephen.wilson.jr at @dickiesarena in ft. Worth tonight! Figured this was the perfect opportunity to revisit the concept from the mural I painted in Dallas at @wildwestmuralfest years ago that’s no longer there and love how it tuned out. Also, recently learned about @stephen.wilson.jr getting to see him play acoustic and was absolutely blown away. Made this even more exciting. Unfortunately won’t have an artist run this time. Thanks to @chiefmerchandise and the team for making it happen!

Got tired of talking people’s ears off about how I approach applying to mural festivals/artist calls, so put it all together here to share and have an easier reference. While I do believe in the quality of my work and always make a big effort to continually get better, the work alone is rarely enough. Honestly, the biggest thing that helped me apply easily and probably get accepted more consistently was building my own system to make it super easy to apply: I keep my portfolio ready in multiple formats I keep a spreadsheet and add every festival/call I see that seems interesting and stay on it I save all my application answers in one master Google Doc Up to you whether this is worth it and your own goals, but it has totally has been for me when no application takes more than like 15 min. Right now there are 3 open applications for festivals I was accepted to in the past and had a great time doing for you to apply to if you wanna get this going: @downtowncorpuschristi_ Application Due: Monday, February 16, 2026 @midvalecity Deadline: Thursday, February 26, 2026 @downtownalpena Deadline: Sunday, March 15, 2026